What does Orlando need to make it a wolrd class city? (Jacksonville: car rental, rental)

[crystalblue]

If you were Dictator of Orlando, what would you do to take Orlando to the next level?

[loillon892]

Economic diversification. Could be said for the entire state of Florida, but is acutely true for Central Florida. Orlando will never become a true world-class city as long as it is essentially a theme park surrounded by sprawl. And there is no logical reason for the proliferation of toll roads in that area.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by loillon892

Economic diversification. Could be said for the entire state of Florida, but is acutely true for Central Florida. Orlando will never become a true world-class city as long as it is essentially a theme park surrounded by sprawl. And there is no logical reason for the proliferation of toll roads in that area.

What would you do to encourage diversity?

[GABMER]

Orlando has a loooong way to go other than theme parks and hospitality jobs there is nothng. Bad education, no ecomomic prosperity, no infraestructure. Doesn't seem to me that Orlando will ever be a "world class city"

[loillon892]

Originally Posted by crystalblue

What would you do to encourage diversity?

The biggest single thing would be an emphasis on education. That is a Florida problem, not just a localized Orlando issue. There are no world cities that do no have at least one good university.

Unlike some here, I think Orlando could indeed look very different in the future. But when tourism = easy money, I doubt that politicians and community leaders are willing to make the long-term, difficult choices necessary to create a stronger, more diversified economy.

[crystalblue]

Originally Posted by loillon892

The biggest single thing would be an emphasis on education. That is a Florida problem, not just a localized Orlando issue. There are no world cities that do no have at least one good university.

Unlike some here, I think Orlando could indeed look very different in the future. But when tourism = easy money, I doubt that politicians and community leaders are willing to make the long-term, difficult choices necessary to create a stronger, more diversified economy.

I would agree with the education. I think the area would really benefit from a new university, in the vein of Ga Tech/Cal Tech.

UCF seems to be getting into the Medical area ok...

[GloryB]

Orlando was a nice town that ended up bumping up against all the globally known theme park attractions. I don't know that expecting it to turn into anything other than what it was to begin with is fair. On one end you have the magical part....and on the other end you have a whole lot of people trying to survive on worker wages. Orlando is caught between the two.....and I think they are doing the best they can with what they have.

The only mistake I don't understand is why they didn't put in the penny tax on gas like Jacksonville, FL did a few years ago. The tourism traffic would have fed an incredible amount of revenue into this town. I think it is possible, they should have consolidated, as Jacksonville did, early on so they could make a plan as a whole instead of in fractions.

The theme parks expected Orlando to provide many hotels/resorts for several decades....then the parks began to build their own. This caused a great disparity locally. There should have been more conversation early on to protect the individual owners of hotels and various business ventures.

[annerk]

I would offer incentives to up-and-coming companies that would offer good paying jobs to build their headquarters here. Hi-tech, medical, R&D, etc. I would take the emphasis off tourism and the service industry and place it on industries that aren't as affected by economic swings. As the economy improves there will be more money to create better schools and hire better teachers.

[Crane's Rooster]

I think we are FARRRR from being a World Class City, and quite honestly do not know if I see it happening in the near future. That doesn't mean I do not have faith in us reaching that status, but you do not become World Class overnight. There are many great American cities that are not World Class, but I would live there a heartbeat. The only American cities I would consider World Class are New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Miami, Boston and San Francisco. The argument could be made for Atlanta, Dallas and Seattle also.

That being said, I believe we are already making good strides to move to the next level and weaning ourselves off our hospitality dependence. For example, in addition to tourism, Central Florida is starting to emerge in the Medical field. The Medical City in Lake Nona will be a GREAT asset to the community. Landing the Burnham Research Institute eastern hub was huge. It will create many high paying, skilled jobs. I'm not sure if anyone remembers that we lost our bid to get the Scripps Ranch eastern hub. Well years later, Burnham is now being occupied, while the Scripps Ranch facility down south is still caught up in legal wrangling. Along with it, Burnham has brought a UF Medical research branch, Cancer research center and joint UCF research facility.

Central Florida also has a strong defense industry. Lockheed Martin used to have a bigger influence here until the Naval Training Center Closed down. I remember back when it was open, taking trips down to Fashion Square Mall and it would be filled with white uniformed sailors.

There is also a burgeoning simulation industry here. EA sports is headquartered in Maitland and many of the military simulation technology also comes out of Central Florida. Put on top that the Space industry. Hopefully the administration will not slash funding and actually boost financing to NASA. That would be a great boon to our economy. So you see, we do have other industries, we just tend to overlook them.

As far as what we need to do the list is long. But first and foremost, as many have already said, we need to improve our education system. We also need to improve our infrastructure to include mass transit. Hopefully the commuter rail will go through this time. We do need more economic diversification. Despite what the critics say, I believe things like building the new arena and performing arts center are very important to reaching that next level. We will be able to host national or world class events with these new facility. The focus it brings to our community will help elevate our status. Look at what the attention for the NBA finals did for our city.

Finally, the reason I do not see us becoming world class city soon is that we are a victim of our own circumstances. We are in a huge state with limited resources. In our state alone we have 4 major metropolitan areas. Of course places like Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville will also need their lion share of state funding. It's not like being Denver, Minneapolis or Phoenix where every "big" facility or event will be, by de facto, located in your city. Miami is already a World Class gateway to the Carribean and Latin America. There would be no reason for business focusing on that part of the world to set up shop in Orlando. Atlanta is already a financial hub for the southeast. I do not see that changing. Tampa and Jax, by their geography, are major port cities. We do not have that benefit.

All in all, our goal should be the Best Orlando with what we have. If we do that, we will make Orlando a pretty impressive place.

[**NoodLes**]

Education is key to make it a "wolrd" class city as demonstrated by the title of this post. You can also see this kind of quality of workmanship just by driving by construction which seems to never end. For example, the DOT will fix a minor issue on the roadways, be it a lane widening or repavement, but they will not take down the orange cones and speed limit signs for MONTHS even after the project is complete. Been to the airport recently? Seriously how long does it take to widen a few lanes which are literally only meters long, and its been in work for a few months easily. This kind of "half -a$$ed" focus on getting the job done right is evident in all aspects of this lame "wannabe" world-class city and sadly it will never change. It hasn't changed in 10 years and I am certain it will not change in the next decade especially with the clowns in office who have obviously never spent time in a world class city. I invite ALL elected officials to spend at least 1 to 2 years in a large, well planned and developed city to actually see what it takes to make it "work".

Next, get rid of the tolls. We have 1, ONLY 1, free Interstate. Most other cities have at least 3 to 4 FREE highways so I can go to work and back. Wanna go to Cocoa Beach? Guess what, you're gonna have to pay at least 3 tolls ONE WAY so I can enjoy a good hard earned day off at the beach. I'm sorry but the pay here sucks in the first place, I pay property taxes and I SHOULD NOT have to pay to go to the nearest beach which was obviously designed as a tourist trap in the first place.

Next, get rid of the monopoly that is Walt Disney. Ever been to Las Vegas? Ever heard of any FREE shuttles to your Casino/Hotel? NOPE! How bout Washington DC? NOPE! It's a fact that Disney has Orlando by the BALLS. Why can't Universal have free shuttles? $$$$$$$ And as long as our sorry officials are getting a paycheck from Disney's lobbyists Orlando will always be the same. Allow a free-market with transportation companies ie: limos, taxis, and NO, MEARS can not be the exclusive transportation company to the numerous timeshare resorts here. Ban all exclusive contracts with car rental and transportation companies associated with hotels so EVERY company can make money. Not only the PREFERRED company signed into contract with my hotel.

Next, SPORTS. What does Otown have, the Orlando Magic LOLLOLOLOL!! Every other city except Orlando has a BASEBALL, FOOTBALL, HOCKEY, BASKETBALL, and minor league soccer and baseball team. What happened to the old Orlando Rays baseball team that used to play in guess what DISNEY!! YAY, they got another monopoly! But like a magic trick they disappeared and nobody cared, know why? Simple, minor league teams are LOCAL and guess what, ever tried to get a job here. Well chances are you're going to end up in tourism and good luck getting any CONSISTENT SCHEDULE in any tourism-type job. Heck I couldn't PLAN a day just to watch a minor league game if I wanted to, because you can be scheduled from 5 AM one day or 5 PM the next day. Also know what, the person scheduling you doesn't give a rat's a$$ if they give you a jacked up schedule or not because that's what they've become accustomed to. A world class city has an abundance of normal schedule jobs with weekends off and holidays paid, but Orlando you must work on holidays because while everybody's enjoying their time off, getting paid BTW, you're working. WOW what a life!

Next, REQUIRE companies here to conduct an APTITUDE test. Seriously, half the people I work with a 6th grader could do and good luck understanding what their trying to say, be it Jamaican, Haitian, or some other South or Central American country they come from. If I can't distinguish at least 2 words in a sentence or you cannot have a discussion longer than 2 sentences, GET OUT! You should not be working!

Next, major cities have a multitude of service providers for electric, cable, etc. What does OTown have and has had for the past 10 years? Brighthouse and OUC, Kissimmee has KUA. WOW!! What choice I have, ONE provider! Orlando and its so-called runoff suburbs simply don't have the population density that other major cities have. Orlando is an EMPTY city and the only reason Sand Lake Road gets congested is because NO ONE WANTS to pay tolls on the "BeachLine" which should have never been changed from the "BeeLine" in the first place.

Next, but definitely not last, how can Orlando NOT synchronize major traffic lights especially near the airport. Honestly, at least synchronize from MCO to Hoffner and little things like this make a place better to live.

There's many other issues Orlando continues to suffer from, and will continue to suffer from and in the end ORLANDO WILL NEVER ACHIEVE WORLD-CLASS rights, especially when its DOMINATED by tourism.

God Bless the day when I can FINALLY leave this Sodom and Gomorrah melting pot, also known as FloriDUH!